New York Markets After Hours

Australia stocks rise, but set for quarterly loss

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Australia rose in early trade Friday, with reiterations from U.S. Federal Reserve officials that monetary stimulus will depend on the economic outlook helping Australian equities reach for a third straight win. The S&P/ASX 200 index
XJO, -0.22%
tacked on 0.3% to 4,827.50, led by gains in the banking sector. Shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
ANZ, -0.47%ANEWF, -1.23%
and Westpac Banking Corp.
WBC, +0.09%WEBNF, -2.39%
were each up 0.8% and National Australia Bank Ltd.
NAB, +0.16%NAUBF, +1.45%
rose 0.7%. Mining stocks, many of which notched steep losses this month, were mixed. Gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd.
NCM, +0.09%NCMGF, -4.85%
was down 1.7% while Rio Tinto Ltd.
RIO, -0.24%RIO, -1.00%
advanced 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was set to post more than 2% loss for June, and a decline of roughly 3% for the second quarter, the first quarterly fall since the second quarter of 2012.

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